Exploring blood glucose control in Type 1 diabetes

Glycaemia Trajectories in Type 1 Diabetes and their Association with Complications

Project summary

Professor Colhoun hopes to understand how blood glucose control in Type 1 diabetes changes over time in different groups of people.These insights could help us find ways to improve blood glucose levels in people with Type 1 diabetes.

Background to research

We know it’s important for people with Type 1 diabetes to have safe blood glucose levels, but current targets can be difficult for many people to reach. Information is available on trends in blood glucose control in the overall Type 1 population, but only looking at the population as a whole may hide differences between different groups (e.g. age and gender). We also don’t know how blood glucose control may change over time, and how this relates to the risk of diabetes complications.

Research aims

Professor Colhoun will analyse health records for all of the people with Type 1 diabetes in Scotland, which were collected over a 10-year period.

Professor Colhoun and her team will compare blood glucose control in different age, gender, social or geographic groups of people. The researchers will also look at individual cases, to understand how blood glucose control varies over time and how this relates to the risk of complications.

Potential benefit to people with diabetes

This work could help us to understand how blood glucose levels differ in different people with Type 1 diabetes, and which groups may benefit from greater support to manage their blood glucose levels.

Likewise, knowing how blood glucose levels change over time could help healthcare professionals give more support at particular times during life (e.g. adolescence) and help people with Type 1 diabetes reduce their risk of complications.